Current Events: Dark Times
There is a general perception that peace is here, for a time. But no one believes that peace has broken out for very long. Iuz has achieved so much, so fast; he will hardly rest content for ever. The Scarlet Brotherhood was unknown until a dozen years ago, and now it strangles the Azure Sea as a mesh of creeping vines strangles a tree. Within the beleaguered central lands, the task to hand is twofold: first, to rebuild and fortify defenses with the expectation of future conflict, and second, to take little, and no strangers, on trust.
The need to fortify and protect is strongest in those lands and regions that border Iuz and the remnants of the Great Kingdom. This takes the form of population retreat from rural areas to cities, the building of defenses around towns and cities of any size (but few states can afford to construct major fortifications and castles), and a general preparedness of local people for trouble.
As an example of how common folk behave in such times, a charming Nyrondese village that ten years ago would have welcomed strangers and offered hospitality would now be a very different place. The village might be defended by a wooden stockade wall, or at least by ditches. Strangers would be regarded suspiciously, and the locals might speak Nyrondese rather than Common in their presence.
Often, such a village might demand that strangers lay down all arms, to be taken into the custody of the Serjeant or Constable of the place. If accommodation is offered at all, it would not be unusual for guests to be locked into their rooms for the night in a room with well-shuttered windows.
There is a general tendency among ordinary folk to hold to what one has, to trust one's family and long-time friends and few others, and (especially in borderlands) to keep faith with the Power that offers protection. A resurgence of genuine devotion, and no little superstition, are commonplace.
The suspiciousness of the rulers in these times comes primarily from the growing awareness of how much the Scarlet Brotherhood has achieved, and how it has achieved it. Disappearances, kidnappings, assassinations, and lying and treacherous agents posing as advisors - these engender distrust. Almost anyone who is anyone does not willingly trust the advice of a stranger in these dark days. Priests and mages using detection spells throng the courts of the influential.
Spying and sneaking has become a tool widely used by many rulers; one side effect of this is that many thieves have found themselves receiving offers of employment from a Duke or Count who previously might have preferred them hanged. On the borderlands, rangers could forever give up sleeping and still not accomplish more than a small part of what is asked of them. Established orders of knighthood, noble and learned societies, and the like draw in their horns and speak far less than they listen.
Even in many of the most civilized lands, the rule of law is less centralized than before the Wars. There is a strong tendency for local nobles to rule their fiefs as they see fit, although they do not actively oppose their rulers in most cases.
In borderlands, local communities are almost a law unto themselves, with a Serjeant or Sheriff (often elected by elders, or the whole population of a village) responsible for dealing with miscreants. Central authority often cannot afford to do more than send out militia to aid tax collectors. There are exceptions to this; Gran March, Keoland, Veluna, the Urnst and Ulek lands, and the lands around Greyhawk still retain pre-war standards of law. In Furyondy and Nyrond in particular, matters are less organized.
All this shouldn't be taken to mean that everyone encountered along the roadside, or in cities and towns, is wildly paranoid. Rather, folk take wise precautions, and rulers vacillate and hesitate until they have what they perceive to be all the facts they need to make decisions. In itself, the latter is a minor triumph of evil, and there are certainly those who speak out against this rising tide of conservatism. They are not widely listened to.
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